Climate Crisis

By Madison Staten | – PHOENIX (Cronkite News) – The irony of indoor celebrations of a day dedicated to the outdoors is not lost on Hazel Chandler, 74. “It makes me really sad,” the Phoenix resident said when asked about this year’s celebration. “Fifty years ago in 1970, you know, I was part of the […]

Climate Crisis

US Oil “Technically Worthless,” and Coal Plants Shuttered, as a Tidal Wave of Bankruptcies Looms

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – May contracts for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil went as low as -$37.63 on Monday. So report Jillian Ambrose and Martin Farrer at The Guardian. The price, well below zero, was a first for the US oil market, and showed the conviction of traders that the economy would not […]

Climate Crisis

Is Covid-19 Killing the Coal Industry in Egypt and around the World? In the Meantime, Solar Shines

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Simon Nicholas at South Africa’s Business Live reports that the proposed huge new Hamrawein coal-fueled power plant in Egypt has been shelved. There are now no new coal plants planned in Egypt, which is pivoting toward renewables after years of mainly relying on fossil fuels. One cause for the demise […]

Climate Crisis

After Trillions invested in Security after 9/11, Coronavirus Shows we’re not Up to Security Threat of Climate Emergency

The Conversation

By Kate Guy | – How might a single threat, even one deemed unlikely, spiral into an evolving global crisis which challenges the foundations of global security, economic stability and democratic governance, all in the matter of a few weeks? My research on threats to national security, governance and geopolitics has focused on exactly this […]

Climate Crisis

Unless we Halt Trump’s War on the Environment, the next Pandemic is coming for Us

Foreign Policy in Focus

( Foreign Policy in Focus ) – Congress is already thinking about how to prevent the next pandemic. See how quickly Cory Booker (D-NJ) has teamed up with Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to write a letter calling for a global ban on “wet markets.” The current pandemic is reputed to have originated in a wet market […]

Climate Crisis

Killing off the Animals: By Burning Fossil Fuels, we’ll destroy 50% of their Habitat this Century

The Conversation

By Christopher Trisos and Alex Pigot | – The impacts of climate change on species and ecosystems are already evident. Poleward shifts in the geographic distributions of species, catastrophic forest fires and mass bleaching of coral reefs all bear the fingerprints of climate change. But what will the world’s biodiversity look like in the future? […]

Climate Crisis

Burning Fossil Fuels made Coronavirus Death Rate Worse, and Kills 200K Americans per Year, Not to Mention Global Heating

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Air pollution, producing medical conditions such as asthma and other lung problems as well as heart disease, is responsible for some of the thousands of coronavirus deaths in the United States. This, according to a just-published Harvard study, which is well summarized by Matthew Yglesias of Vox. Yglesias notes that […]

Climate Crisis

Climate after corona: Germany’s green stimulus package could boost the economic recovery

Clean Energy Wire

By Benjamin Wehrmann | – ( Clean Energy Wire ) – The coronavirus crisis is driving many economies around the globe into recession, leading policymakers to draw up unprecedented spending plans to cushion the impact and enable recoveries. Activists, environmental think tanks and others warn that battling the economic slump must not come at the […]

Climate Crisis

Sorry, Climate Change Denialists, but Coronavirus Makes Green Energy even More Urgent

The Conversation

By John Hewson | Climate deniers have been hanging out for the United Nations’ next big summit to fail. In a sense, the coronavirus and its induced policy responses have more than satisfied their wildest dreams, precipitating a global recession that they no doubt hope has pushed the issue of the low-carbon transition well down […]